Bassist Duncan Coutts will stay behind to recuperate from the pancreatic surgery he underwent in February for an unspecified ailment. He had the procedure at a Toronto hospital and is said to be “recovering well.”

Rob Higgins of the band Change Of Heart will step in to handle bass duties for the OLP tour. Most of the shows will be in college towns and secondary markets.

The new album is called Spiritual Machines and is the band’s first release since 1999’s Happiness … Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch.

In between albums, the band kept itself very much in the public eye, with two full national tours of Canada and extensive treks across Europe and the U.S., including an appearance at Woodstock ‘99.

All that touring meant plenty of time on the tour bus – and time for such esoteric pursuits such as reading. The guys don’t mind sharing what was on the top of their literary list.

The new album’s title and its content were heavily inspired by keyboard maker and author Ray Kurzweil’s book, “Spiritual Machines – When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence,” which was passed from bandmate to bandmate.